6'0 Tall wife to Muscle Man, mother of 3, full time career woman, with an addiction to running wherever her size 10's will take her.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

No SOLO Half Marathons

When I ran my First Half Marathon, Capital City 2009, I didn't know what I was doing and just RAN and ran FAST.. I got a 1:43:49.. My second Half I hoped for a PR but it wasn't my day, thankfully it was a small race and I ended up being the 1st Place woman!! My 3rd Half Marathon I had been sick for 2 weeks leading up to the race. It was Mercer Island on my good friend Amanda's (HERE) Birthday. She was aiming for a PR. I thought about running with her, to help pace her, and to be with my friend, but for some reason we didn't connect. So I ran ALONE, up and down all the HILLS, sick, killing myself. When I finally got to the Finish Line no one was there for me, all of my friends were still on the course. Something in me SNAPPED and since then I have not run a Half Marathon solo..

My 'Pacing' History

#4- Super Jock & Jill- Pacing Jill to a PR

#5- You Go Girl- Pacing Tonya to a PR

#6- Seattle RNR- Running with my buddies Amanda/Jess.

#7- See Jane- Helping me Tall Sister Jayne finish her First Half

#8- You Go Girl- Trying to pace Kim to a sub 2:00, I failed :(

And here we are at Half Marathon #9 and again I will be running with someone.. This time the LOVE of my life.. The best part about pacing my Husband is that I truly KNOW him. I am learning more about him as a Runner, the best ways to encourage him and when needed push him. Our training runs have been great and I feel blessed to have him by my side for my next Half

***Last night I asked Tall Sister, who recently moved down the block, if she would watch the Little Studs so we could run a 10K solo.. She said YES!! Thanks Sister!!

From the first stride I felt AMAZING.. Totally connected with my legs, my breathing, everything felt perfect. I knew that we could kill Muscle Man's 10K PR, which he has improved on every week. It was a BUMMER because MM was off, Dinner was not sitting well and he got a side-ache early on. Everything in me wanted to go FAST, so I kept at a comfortable/fast pace a few steps ahead of him. I could tell he was struggling, but I wanted to test his limits, to see what he would do.

I want to know how to help support him when it gets tough. The answer? Run ahead of him a little. He kept up with me, despite struggling and feeling like crap. I slowed down for mile 4 and asked if he wanted to walk, he said no and kept going. He told me to run ahead, he knew that I wanted to go-go-go. for the next mile I sped ahead, with MM about 100yards behind. He picked up his pace to keep me in site. After the mile I stopped and waited, I wanted to finish the run together. He caught up and we headed toward the car. Overall pace for the run 8:50!! He felt like crap and still pulled out sub 9:00 miles for a 10K!!

With his First Half Marathon 11 days away he is right where he needs to be.. and I won't be SOLO.

16 comments:

I have never run a half alone. I don't necessarily run with my spouse/friend, but I always start off with someone and wait for them at the finish. I should try one alone just to see what it's like:) I kind of like recapping the race on the car ride home though.

I snapped a couple of months ago & vowed to never run another race alone again. Well, maybe a 5k, but nothing more than that. The whole point of me signing up for these races is to HAVE FUN. Now that I have so many running friends, I just want to have even more fun. Running alone is not fun. Period. Then again, I am not fast enough to BQ or run with a super elite crowd. I do this for my health (both physical and mental). It was interesting coming to terms with what I want out running. It's not speed for me. It's friendship and fun.

i feel like all my half marathons lately have been to run them with other people, to help pace them, to take the journey with them. thinking back i've only run two half marathons for myself in the past two years! ha. that will change this year though, time for a PR! ;)

p.s. having a baby IS good, just keep me in your prayers that it happens for us!

I'm a solo runner. Not necessarily by choice, I just usually don't have anyone to run with at races. I have had occasions to run with people for part of a race and enjoyed it, but running is my "me" time.

Gonna run a race with my daughter in June to pace her. Should be fun. Still trying to figure out the best way to motivate her. :)

If I ever have a running partner, it's my big brother. We've run a few races together, and he always hangs with me. My half PR is with him. He pushes me but makes it fun by talking the whole time. Love it!

I love running with my husband. We ran a 1/2 marathon together in March and it was awesome. You are going to enjoy every minute of this Mel!! And just wait until you see the finish line picture. I had this look on my face of holding back tears as I crossed that finish line holding my husband's hand. It really summed up our marriage because we have always supported each other and we will cross each line together.

Oh, and I have run a 1/2 alone. I also train alone most days because my husband and I have the little ones and rarely get to train together. Running a 1/2 alone is kind of peaceful. Sometimes you see things you had not noticed before while out there alone.

About Tall Mom

Running is my ESCAPE. Life gets busy 3 kids, a wonderful husband, friends, full time career, traffic, errands, etc.. Wash-rinse-repeat. When I lace I enter a new world. Anxiety and stress melt away, just me racing my Garmin. I pray that my body will hold up so I can continue my addiction and accomplish something amazing.